can we get a drumroll, please
by hulklinging
Summary: You can take the nerds out of band class, but you can't take the band out of the nerds. You can, however, take them on a crazy ride to rock star status. Teddy's still feeling a little winded.


Timing is not one of his strong points.

That's silly. It should be. It is, when it's timing when to come in on a song, when to hit a snare and when to smile for a camera and when to look away from their bassist so it doesn't seem like he's staring.

He's a drummer. He's made of moments, there's a beat in his bones. It just doesn't quite reach his throat. It's why he's not a singer, why he usually lets the others talk for him. He's okay that the media calls him the quiet one, adds that to his performance persona alongside all of the other pieces of personality he amplifies for the fans. He's quiet, he's charming, he's ballast to a high energy high drama high profile rock band that really wasn't ready to blow up but are doing their best.

It helps that they're young and pretty. Maybe that comes down to timing, too. Although Teddy didn't really have anything to do with their sudden recognition. Really, that was all Xavin and their girlfriend, Karolina. Karolina, who showed up to their posting for a vocalist in a tie-dye shirt and bright yellow shorts, who sang circles around the other kids who showed up while accompanying herself on the keyboard with a smile. Karolina and Billy started collaborating on original songs, America happily stepped back from vocals so she could focus on guitar, which meant that they could finally kick Topher out. He never showed up anyway.

Xavin's vocal style was a hard one to pin down, reviewers comparing them to everyone from Florence to Joan Jett, but Teddy remembers that first day when Xavin shyly put up a hand, the nail-polish catching the light in America's shitty garage with more elegance than it had any right to, and admitted that they had been learning a song Karolina had written, and could they show the rest of the band? Their voice had shook at first, but it still had him sitting up in his seat, actually leaning forward with pure enjoyment, as Xavin took Karolina's lyrics and and flung them out into the sky. Their voice was like stars, and with Karolina singing quiet harmonies they were like something that got under your skin and stayed there until it stained a tattoo to your bones.

The Homeward Bounders had been some shitty grungy garage band since eighth grade. Within six months of Xavin taking lead, they'd been signed, their first album in the works. Their first single had been a bigger hit than any of them had expected, and their album shot to the top on the crescendo of that first song. Teddy still smiles whenever they play Shock the Sky, even though he knows it's been pretty overplayed in the year since its release.

He's getting sidetracked. This was about timing. Timing, which has been good to him. Timing, which should be something that continues to go good for him, seeing as his whole career depends on it and shit. Timing, which left him about five seconds before he decided to kiss Billy in some kind of crazy spur of the moment celebration when their name actually gets called as the Grammy winners of Best New Artist, because this must be a dream and because he's just so floored and Billy is looking at him with this stupid grin on his face and they've been best friends since they met in Band 8 and bonded over the Captain America patch on Billy's bass strap. He's been in love with him for almost as long, ever since Billy had wielded his coming out like a weapon against some assholes who had the clever idea of dubbing the boys in band 'a bundle of homos'. After Billy had stood up (all five foot nothing of him, he was not a big kid) and shoved a finger raw from practicing his chords right in the guy's face and shrilly told him that as a self-proclaimed homo, he resented that remark, Teddy knew he was done for.

And when it took Teddy four more years to admit that he wasn't exactly 'the token straight one' either, Billy had the kindness to not once use the word coward, even when that was the only word Teddy could think of to describe his coming out.

It had been that little outburst in Band 8 that had also brought America over to them. She was scowling, and Teddy remembers that he was more scared of this girl with red white and blue braces than the shitty bullies. She stopped in front of the two of them, thirteen years old and already passing judgement with narrowed eyes.

"That was pretty punk rock of you," she said. "Wanna be in my band?"

America supplied the setting, Billy the title, and Teddy the beat. Xavin had joined them in Grade 10, the new kid who walked into the GSA at lunch and seemed surprised to see that the club was really only comprised of the three of them.

"Do you play an instrument?" Billy asked with a grin. Xavin started out on keys, bringing seven years of classical lessons and a whole lot of pent up angst and anger to the table. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but nothing really is in Grade 10 anyways.

Karolina was some home-schooled hippie child until the last six months of senior year, which happened to be about the time Xavin got frustrated with the keyboard and Billy decided his singing was really better left to the shower. Hence the singing auditions, the literal sunshine of a person, and probably the most dramatic coming out their school district had ever seen, which may or may not have involved stealing a high school diploma and some carefully placed white out.

The point is that Teddy and Billy are not always to be trusted when celebrating. Teddy remembers them hugging after graduation, exhilaration and pride and relief all at once, and Billy leaning in to press the quickest of kisses to his mouth.

"I swear it was an accident," Billy had said, eyes wide, face apologetic. And Teddy had blinked, his own confession dying on his tongue.

It had been an accident, and Teddy and Billy were known for being a bit... accident-prone, when good news came their way. They had kissed the night they got signed, when their single had gone viral, after the last show on their tour. Usually though, they waited until after they had the excuse of alcohol to explain it away. Also, they tended to keep said accidents out of the public now.

All of that had fled Teddy's mind when he heard the announcer call their name.

Timing. Timing and accidents and how Billy can't meet his eyes.

They're sitting in their green room, because they're supposed to go out and perform in approximately five minutes. Teddy wonders if his hands will have stopped shaking by then.

Their handler, a lovely lady named Xi'an who is really too good to deserve this, is frowning down at the two of them like some weird mockery of a mother. Teddy doesn't even think she's much older than them, but she definitely has the 'I love you but I'm disappointed in you' look down pat.

"So." She says. Teddy wonders how much he'd have to pay her for her to end the lecture there. She does not look like one who is easily bought. "What have we said about surprise coming outs?"

"That they're fun for the whole family?" Billy has a horrified look on his face, like he didn't mean to make a snarky comment, it just spilled out of him. More accidents.

"Try again."

America, who is lounging on the couch upside down between the two of them, presses a button on her phone. A loud BZZZZZZT sounds. A game show fail.

"Technically, Billy came out already..." Teddy points out, because he did. The first time they got this lecture about surprise coming outs. That had been at their interview on Ellen.

"In my defence," Billy had been practically floating. Ellen had high fived him after the reveal. "I've wanted to come out on Ellen since I was five, so."

Since their lead singer and pianist were very publicly a queer couple, it's not like they got much backlash for it, anyways. Haters were already hating. But Xi'an had explained it was the principle of the thing. Which was fair.

America replays the BZZZZT before Xi'an even opens her mouth. "Wrong answer," she declares, completely unnecessarily.

Xi'an just points at her, because they seem to have rendered her speechless. Teddy makes a mental note to sing her praises at their next interview. If he's allowed to live that long.

"In my defence," says Billy, and he's got this grin on his face, because he knows he's quoting himself, and he has a bad habit of smiling at his own jokes before he makes them. "I've been wanting that to happen since I was fourteen, so."

Everyone turns to look at him. Even Xavin and Karolina, who are on the other couch cuddling and enjoying being the ones not in trouble this time, stare at him. His grin gets kind of crooked, and he tries to pretend he's not going red. Which is kinda hilarious, because when Billy blushes, he blushes with his whole presence, his posture shifting, his eyes looking off to the side. Unlike self-deprecation and doubt, which Billy wears with the ease of familiarity, embarrassment is something that is very obvious on him, because he just doesn't let himself get embarrassed very often.

"Wait, really?"

Teddy doesn't remember choosing to speak, but he did anyway, because that was most certainly his voice breaking the silence.

Now it's his turn to get stared at. He deals with it by tapping out a drumroll on his pant leg. Might as well embrace his identity with open arms, after all. He hasn't needed a stress ball since his first pair of drumsticks, and he had a terrible habit of wearing one behind his ear during high school.

"You didn't know?" America groans. "He stares at your ass on a daily basis."

Teddy chooses to ignore America, because he doesn't want to die of a heart attack at such a young age, please.

Karolina leans over to Xavin and whispers into their ear. Although she's trying to be quiet, the air in their room is too charged to keep any secrets.

"I thought they were already dating."

"Are you fucking kidding me," says Teddy in mild panic. "K, that... what?"

She turns to frown at him. "Maybe you just wanted to be subtle about it! I wasn't about to judge! And you kissed at Grad!"

"That was an accident!" Chorus Billy and Teddy. This earns them another BZZZZZT.

"Don't worry." How is America still talking. Why has she not been arrested. "Billy, Teddy's been staring at your ass since Ninth Grade, too."

Xi'an actually growls in frustration. "Okay. Let's sign yearbooks later, please. Can you please go out there and play one song without causing anymore headlines?"

"Yes, of course." Xavin stands up, and it shows how much they all respect them, that the instant they decide it's time to get into a show headspace, they follow suit without a word. "I'm sorry, Xi'an."

"This song'll be for you," Teddy promises, standing up and stretching and definitely not noticing Billy, who is definitely not noticing how when Teddy stretches his nice shirt pulls up and shows off a strip of skin between hem and belt. How long has he been doing that? Had Teddy really been that worried about Billy noticing him staring to miss how much staring Billy himself had been doing?

Xi'an makes a big show of checking over their clothes to make sure nothing has ripped or fallen off in their brief time back here, but Teddy can still see how her lips quirk into a pleased smile at their song's dedication.

America is the last in line to get checked, and despite hanging upside down, she manages to look just as dangerous as ever. As she hands her phone over, she grins. "Does this mean we have to kiss, now?"

Xi'an takes the phone. BZZZZZT is the only answer America's teasing gets.

As they wait in the wings, Billy reaches out and grabs Teddy's hand. He's going to have to let go in a second, because Teddy may be good on drums but he's not good enough to play one-handed. But before he does, he gives Teddy's hand a tight squeeze, and turns to stare at him. He's wearing a familiar smile, one that Teddy is used to seeing out of the corner of his eye, but very rarely otherwise. It's softer than most of Billy's expressions, something honest and open in his eyes.

Maybe Teddy's timing leaves something to be desired, and maybe Billy is a little accident-prone. But they're rock stars. They're allowed to make some bad decisions, break a few hearts, fall in love with their best friends...

"Your ship name is trending on Twitter, by the way." America stage whispers right in Teddy's ear. "We're all very proud."

"Oh, shut up."

It's not his best comeback, but judging by the smile on Billy's face, it'll do just fine.


End file.
